Josie King was an 18 month-old girl who died because of a medical error. Contributing causes to this tragedy were related to communication failures among the health care team, as well as failure to include Josie’s family as part of the care process.
To remember Josie and all who have been impacted by medical error, a patient safety recognition, called the Josie King Hero Award, will be distributed quarterly, to a health care team that exemplifies teamwork and communication strategies promoting safe patient care.
The inaugural award (for first quarter 2015) was given to the Retina Service Team in the Ophthalmology department at the Kensington Medical Center. The Retina Services Team demonstrated several key teamwork skills in the domains of Communication, Situational Monitoring, and Mutual Support, to strive for zero patient errors.
There is no room for error in a high volume clinic when dealing with vision-threatening, invasive procedures! Tim Hopkins, MD, brought a sticker-based safety system to the clinic upon his arrival a year ago. The team, consisting of Bizuayehu Aynalhem, Paul Gieser, Gamar Janjari, and Barry Terry, fully embraced this system and in turn reduced procedural error, leading to safe patient care. The Retina Service Team embraces RSBAR (Request, Situation, Background, Assessment, Request) communication technique and use it to ensure that nothing falls through the crack regarding patient care. The team makes it their mission to provide Kaiser Permanente members with the highest quality care.
Please join us in congratulating the Retina Services Team and thanking them for their continued efforts in assuring safe patient care for Kaiser Permanente members!
